1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for communicating vehicle information with an external management station through a radio signal.
2. Related Art
It is known by JP-A-6-102148 to transmit vehicle information such as a vehicle inspection result (diagnosis information regarding an abnormality in an engine-related part) on the vehicle side from the vehicle to a management station serving as a competent authority by a radio communication. The management station instructs the user of the vehicle to repair the vehicle.
In such a system, it is necessary to construct the vehicle so that it is equipped with an apparatus for transmitting and receiving information by radio (transponder) and information regarding an inspection is acquired by a control unit mounted on the vehicle and is sent from the control unit to the transponder.
In case of a system in which the vehicle side is passive in such a manner that a request to transmit information regarding the inspection is sent from the management station side to the vehicle and the transponder which received the transmission request transmits the information regarding the inspection to the management station side, the following inconvenience occurs. Since it is unknown when the transmission request from the management station side is sent, the system has to be constructed on the vehicle side so as to always respond to the request. For this purpose, for example, it is necessary to set a transponder and control units mounted on the vehicle always in an ON state. Generally, in the state where the engine is stopped, however, the battery mounted on the vehicle is not charged. By always setting the components in the ON state, the battery is likely to run down in a short time because of the electric power consumed by the transponder and control units.
In this regard, for instance, in the diagnosis system disclosed in JP-A-6-102148, an information processor is set in a "sleep" state when an ignition switch is not turned on, and the power source is turned on by a call from a base station serving as the management station to execute a responding process. In this diagnosis system, vehicle information is transmitted in response to the call from the management station side irrespective of the result of diagnosis to be transmitted (whether abnormal or normal). It is therefore necessary that the system has to wait at least in the sleep state, so that the power consumption of the battery occurs. In the case where the vehicle information surely shows an abnormality, considering the urgency of handling also in the management station side which received the information, even if there is a disadvantage of power consumption of the battery, it is considered that the responding process should be preferentially executed. When the vehicle information shows a normal state, however, the handling also in the management station side which received the information is not so urgent and the information is basically used as rather information for confirmation.
Even if the user voluntarily has the vehicle inspected, repaired, and maintained at a repair shop or the like after diagnosis information of an abnormality in the vehicle is transmitted to the management station, the management station does not know that the vehicle to which the abnormality diagnosis information is transmitted has been repaired. If notification of completion of repair is sent too late, an improper and useless process for demanding a repair again is executed to the repaired vehicle.